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From 30 June this year, the general exemption from capital gains tax (CGT) for a principal place of residence will be lost to foreign tax residents.It is a change to the status quo that has been in place since CGT was introduced in 1985, with an intent, as stated in Treasury Laws Amendment (Reducing Pressure on Housing Affordability Measures No. 2) Bill 2018, to “… stop foreign tax residents from claiming the main residence capital gains tax (CGT) exemption when they sell property in Australia from Budget night 2017. The change will apply to foreign owners of property as follows:

For property held before 7:30pm (AEST) on 9 May 2017, the exemption will only be able to be claimed for disposals that happen up until 30 June 2019 and only if they meet the requirements for the exemption.

For disposals that happen from 1 July 2019 they will no longer be entitled to the exemption for property acquired at or after 7:30pm (AEST) 9 May 2017, the exemption will no longer apply to disposals from that date.